Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Last update: Feb 5, 2025

Table of Contents

Select your question to jump to the item on this page.

Access Questions:

Account Questions:

Accessibility Questions:

General Questions:

Support Questions:

Training Questions:

 

Access Questions:

How do I access Qualtrics?

Follow the instructions on the Getting Started page of this blog site.

Who can use Qualtrics?

Qualtrics can be used by current faculty, staff, and students with a valid Ohio State Username and password.

 

Account Questions:

How do I become a Division Administrator?

If you are faculty or staff and interested in becoming a Division Administrator for your college or department:

      • Review the Division Administrator’s roles and responsibilities.
      • Submit a completed Division Administrator request. Approval from your department or college administrator in a Director-level position or above will be required.
      • You will be notified if your request has been approved by your department or college administrator.
      • Upon approval, the required training must be completed before Division Administrator access is granted.

Note: Where necessary to reduce the number of Division Administrators, multiple smaller areas may be aligned under one Division Administrator.

How do I collaborate on my survey or share data with someone outside of Ohio State?

First, determine if your data and projects are allowed to be shared with non-OSU researchers or collaborators. The following links will help with this evaluation:

Researchers and other people you collaborate with who are not affiliated with Ohio State are responsible for acquiring/purchasing their own Qualtrics accounts.

How do I collaborate on my survey with someone at Ohio State?

You can access the Qualtrics support page about collaboration: https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/my-projects/sharing-a-project/

How do I request an increase for my account to distribute my survey to a large group (above 10,000)?

Use the following attachment as a guide: Qualtrics Account Limitations

How do I see who has accessed my account?

Log into your Qualtrics account, access Account Settings -> User Settings -> Recent Logins

How do I transfer data out of my old survey tool into Qualtrics?

Download the data from your current survey tool.

Create a new survey in Qualtrics similar to the one you already had in your current survey tool.

Follow this link to see exactly how to upload your previous responses into the new Qualtrics survey: https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/data-and-analysis/data/import-responses/

Moving surveys can be a very tedious process. Users are encouraged to evaluate the need to store the survey results in Qualtrics. Take into account the costs and benefits of storing survey results in Qualtrics versus secure Ohio State or non-Ohio State computers/drives. When making these decisions, you can review the following:

I am an employee. What happens to my Qualtrics account if I leave the university?

If you leave the university, you will only retain your OSU’s Qualtrics account if you maintain an active affiliation with The Ohio State University.

If you are faculty and plan to transfer your Qualtrics account to another institution, you will need authorization from the dean of your College and the Vice President of Research (Cynthia Carnes.4). Please gather the approval before submitting your request to ensure the request can be completed in a timely manner:

      • Submit a request to your dean and wait for the approval before moving on to step two.
      • Submit a request to the Vice President of Research and wait for the approval.
      • Once you have both approvals, please visit the Technology and Commercialization Office (TCO)’s Innovate site at https://innovate.osu.edu.
      • From the Home Page, on the right, please click on “Request a New CDA or MTA”.
      • Select the type of agreement – “Data Use Agreement Request Form”.
      • Complete all required questions.
      • Click submit.

After the TCO reviews your request, TCO will inform the Brand Administrator to authorize the export of the contents of your Ohio State Qualtrics account.

If you are staff and plan to transfer your Qualtrics account to another institution you will need authorization from the director of your department and the Vice President of your division (or his/her designee).  Please gather the approval before submitting your request to ensure the request can be completed in a timely manner:

      • Submit a request to your director and wait for the approval before moving on to step two.
      • Submit a request to the Vice President of your division (or his/her designee) and wait for the approval.
      • Once you have both approvals, please visit the Technology and Commercialization Office (TCO)’s Innovate site at https://innovate.osu.edu.
      • From the Home Page, on the right, please click on “Request a New CDA or MTA”.
      • Select the type of agreement – “Data Use Agreement Request Form”.
      • Complete all required questions.
      • Click submit.

After the TCO reviews your request, TCO will inform the Brand Administrator to authorize the export of the contents of your Ohio State Qualtrics account.

Note: During account transfers, some data or access to data may be lost, such as shared projects, shared contacts, and shared library files. It is recommended that once your Brand Administrator provides approval, export shared surveys and data before your account is transferred.

I am a student. What happens to my Qualtrics account when I graduate?

Once you graduate, you will lose access to your OSU’s Qualtrics account, we recommend the following options:

      • Export and save the data which you wish to save.
      • Transfer survey ownership to other members who have access to OSU’s Qualtrics account.

If you plan to transfer your Qualtrics account to another institution, take the following steps to request the transfer in a timely manner: 

      • Go to the Technology and Commercialization Office (TCO)’s Innovate site at https://innovate.osu.edu.
      • From the Home Page, on the right, please click on “Request a New CDA or MTA”. 
      • Select the type of agreement – “Data Use Agreement Request Form”. 
      • Complete all required questions. 
      • Click submit. 

After the TCO reviews your request, TCO will inform the Brand Administrator to authorize the export of the contents of your Ohio State Qualtrics account. 

Note: During account transfers, some data or access to data may be lost, such as shared projects, shared contacts, and shared library files. It is recommended that once your Brand Administrator provides approval, export shared surveys and data before your account is transferred.

 

Accessibility Questions:

How do I publish surveys that do not meet accessibility requirements?

Please visit the following link for detailed information on the exception approval process. You will need an approved IRB or approval from the ADA Office before a Qualtrics Brand Admin can grant this type of access to your account. Accessibility Questions or Exception Request.

I need to use question formats that may be inaccessible to screen readers.  How do I gain access?

Researchers may request an exception for access to inaccessible survey question formats.

 

General Questions:

How do I contact IRB (Institutional Review Board)?

Faculty and researchers utilizing surveys to obtain human subject data must contact and work with the Institutional Review Board. Visit: http://orrp.osu.edu/irb/

How is Qualtrics funded?

Qualtrics is funded through a cost-share model based on the number of FTE per college and department. This funding model was approved by the Senior Fiscal Officers and University Senate. As a result of its approval, faculty, staff and students can use Qualtrics for survey activities without being charged.

What is a BAA?

BAA stands for “Business Associate Agreement”. A BAA is typically used to establish terms and conditions for security-restricted or sensitive data such as FERPA, PHI, or HIPAA data. Restricted or sensitive data is considered S4 data.

Ohio State now has a BAA with Qualtrics. Qualtrics has been reviewed by Information Security. The Information Security Advisory Board has approved collecting and storing some **S4** data in Qualtrics.

**Please note: Qualtrics cannot be used to request and store PHI/Regulated S4 data, violation will result in removal of access.**

What level of data can be collected and stored in Qualtrics?

Qualtrics has been reviewed by Information Security. The Information Security Advisory Board has approved collecting and storing some **S4** (Restricted Institutional Data) in Qualtrics. To learn more about the data classification levels please visit these OSU policies:

**Please note: Qualtrics cannot be used to request and store PHI/Regulated S4 data, violation will result in removal of access.**

Where can OSU’s research survey data policy and training can be found?

If you have questions about the university’s research data policy, please review the information on the link below. Data transfer is covered under Section VI on pg. 3 and Section III on pg. 4 of the Research Data policy.       

 

Support Questions:

Can I change the “From” and “Reply-to” fields when distributing surveys by email through Qualtrics?

Qualtrics users can distribute surveys and reminders using a custom OSU email address.  The domain @survey.osu.edu has enhanced email security set up to make it compatible with sending from Qualtrics.  Users can create their own “From” addresses using @survey.osu.edu in the address, making it easier for recipients to identify that a survey is coming from an Ohio State University sender.  By sending emails through this domain, emails may be less likely to be flagged as spam.  To use the enhancement, users will replace the default From Address with a custom address following the format custom@survey.osu.edu.  Any name can be used in place of “custom” but must be followed by @survey.osu.edu.  Read the Instructions for Using @survey.osu.edu to Distribute Surveys in Qualtrics for more detailed information.

Can I use an electronic signature in my Qualtrics survey? 

It depends on your use case.  Although Qualtrics has a question type for electronic signatures, there are many things to consider before using it.  Please review Electronic Signatures in Qualtrics for important information on the use of these types of questions at Ohio State.

How can I minimize the chance that my survey invitation/reminder email from Qualtrics will be marked as spam?

See  Tips for Avoiding Spam and Instructions for Using @survey.osu.edu to Distribute Surveys in Qualtrics for ways to reduce the chances of survey invitations and reminders being flagged as spam.

How do I change my name in Qualtrics? Can I use a preferred first name on my Qualtrics account?

Contact your Division Administrator to request name changes. If your name.# changed (ie. due to marriage), a Division Administrator can update your existing account with the new name. You should not create a new account. Division Administrators also can change first names to a preferred name.

How do I log into the Qualtrics Support site?

      • Click Help, then Contact Support.
      • Below your user name, click on “Ohio State University, https//:osu.az1.qualtrics.com”

I can’t distribute my survey. What should I do?

    • All Ohio State faculty, students, and staff are automatically provisioned a trial Qualtrics account upon initial login. The trial account is designed for students’ use of Qualtrics for academic/testing purposes and does not allow the distribution of surveys and other restrictions.
    • If you wish to upgrade to a standard account please make sure you have fulfilled the access training requirement and submit your request via ServiceNow.
    • If you have a Standard Account and are still experiencing issues distributing your survey, please contact your Division Administrator for assistance.
    • Students using Qualtrics for an academic course should contact their professor for assistance with issues.

Who do I contact if my area doesn’t have a Division Administrator?

Who is my Division Administrator?

The current list of Division Administrators is located here: Division Administrator. This list is updated regularly.

 

Training Questions:

What training is available for Qualtrics?

Qualtrics offers its own robust customer service and training resources online here. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to use the Qualtrics-provided resources first to learn how to use Qualtrics and address issues beyond the scope of the knowledge base of OSU staff. This site’s Resources page contains additional help aids to become familiar with creating and managing surveys in Qualtrics.